


Precious Moments

by Sasassy



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hair Braiding, Headcanon, M/M, Slow Dancing, Tokyo Ghoul Fluff Week 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-03 19:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5303804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasassy/pseuds/Sasassy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabble collection for TG Fluff Week on Tumblr, including the prompts Friends, Siblings, Parents/Children and Couples/Enemies getting along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One: Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itori had a motto when it came to interacting with other people: Always surround yourself with the fun ones.
> 
> Then, one day, Uta dragged Renji into her life.

Itori had a motto when it came to interacting with other people: Always surround yourself with the fun ones.

 

She loved exuberant people and she loved to laugh.

 

Then, one day Uta dragged Renji into her life.

 

He was a shy one, bordering on rude and cold, so unlike anyone in her circle of friends, but Itori quickly realised that life had forced him to act like that. She could feel that, deep down, he was just a lost kid searching for a place to belong. And she suddenly felt convinced that Uta was working on providing just that, as he kept bringing Renji along, introducing him to everyone and nudging him encouragingly into conversations.

 

Itori didn’t write him off like she would have done with someone inherently rude. Instead, she approached him the few times Uta wasn’t hogging him for once and started talking to him herself, determined to get to know him better.

 

He wasn’t a big talker. Or a talker at all. Most of the times he just listened to her rambling on and on about anything she could think of and only answered in low grunts and the odd clipped response. But he never asked her to stop or even to leave him alone, he never just stood up and walked away himself. Renji always listened, eyes occasionally moving to her face before staring off into space again. And he always listened attentively.

 

”Maybe you should just go for it,” he said one night with a shrug and Itori almost dropped her glass of blood wine. It was the longest phrase she had ever heard him say to anyone but Uta.

 

”Go for what?” she asked, so perplexed that she actually forgot what their conversation had been about.

 

”Have a bar,” Renji deadpanned and his brows furrowed in curious wonder. ”You always talk about how much you would love that. Have people come to you to have fun. It would suit you.”

 

Itori felt a blush creeping high onto her cheekbones at his compliment and she slung her arm around his neck, overjoyed. Rubbing her cheek against the crown of his head, she cooed at him.

”Aaw Renji, you’re so nice underneath that hostile shell. You’re such a precious friend.”

Then she took a leap of faith and pinched his cheeks with her fingers like her favourite aunt always used to do back then in her childhood.

 

His face went from mildly inconvenienced to sour and ready to run in under a second and Itori took pity on him. Her fingers gave one last affectionate pinch before she released them with soft claps.

”I’ll get another glass of wine. Do you want some too?” she asked, her decision to diffuse the situation by stepping away and giving him room already made.

 

Renji shook his head, like he always did. For some reason he didn’t drink. Itori wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or worried, given his still ominously unclear past.

”Got it, another glass of water then,” she chirped and patted his forearm for good measure.

 

When she turned around, she could hear him mutter one word under his breath, sounding absolutely awed and stunned.

 

Itori smiled fondly and turned her head to the side, looking at him with all the affection she had.

”Yes, Renji. Of course we are friends.”

 

She swore she saw him smile for the first time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The canonly unexplored territory that is Itori and Yomo's friendship is what keeps me awake at night.


	2. Day Two: Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renji loves bedtime stories and he especially loves it when his sister reads them to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I tagged it as Yomo's sister and call her Hikari and I'm aware that it's just a headcanon (even though I consider it 99.9% canon).

”Come on up, Renji, it’s time for your bedtime story.”

 

Renji’s eyes lit up at his sister’s words, and he trudged over to his bed, where she had already taken a seat and hopped onto it, all excited energy and pudgy limbs.

 

”Have you brushed your teeth?” Hikari asked and poked his cheeks with a smile. ”Or do I need to be strict with you again, young man?”

 

”No,” Renji whined and shook his head vehemently, with as much graveness as a six-year-old could possibly muster up. ”I brushed. See?” He bared his teeth, then opened wide with a drawn out ”Aaah!” so Hikari could see he was being honest.

 

Hikari giggled and ruffled his hair affectionately.

”I believe you. Good boy! I’m very proud of you. Now get under the covers so I can read to you.”

 

She helped him slip into his bed and tucked the covers in around his tiny form after he got comfortable. As soon as he was settled, head nestled into his pillow and big eyes looking up at her expectantly, she sat down next to him, back against the wall. Renji immediately snuggled into her belly and propped his head on it, so he could see the book she was going to read from.

 

”Don’t peek too much, or you’ll spoil the story for yourself,” Hikari tutted as she caught her brother taking a look at the pictures. ”You’re only allowed to look at the pictures I’m reading from, okay?”

 

”I already know that, silly,” Renji said, rolling his eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

”Now now, don’t get smart with me, nugget. Or I will have to stop right here and send you to bed without a story.”

Hikari watched her little brother with amusement as he apparently went through the five stages of grief in three seconds flat. ”I’m just joking, Renji. Of course I will read to you.”

 

His smile could have outshined the sun, it was so bright and blinding that Hikari felt the need to squint her eyes.

Wrapping her arm around him, she pulled him closer and tucked him safely into her side as if she wanted to shield him from the world.

 

”Okay, here we go,” she started and pointed at the first picture, so Renji knew where they would start. ”Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor and sad also, for no child had Heaven sent to cheer his old age ...”

 

As usual, it didn’t take more than half the book until Renji was fast asleep, his chubby fingers clenched tightly into her shirt and drooling softly onto it. Hikari smiled fondly and pried his hands off of her, before she silently slipped from the bed and tugged the covers further up to Renji’s nose so he wouldn’t get cold during the night. Winter was approaching quickly and she hadn’t had a chance yet to get their apartment ready for the cold.

 

”Sleep well, my love,” she whispered and bent down, wiping his hair away from his forehead so she could place a tender kiss on it. ”See you tomorrow.”

 

Quietly, she crossed the room and slipped from their apartment, ready to get food for the upcoming week. She needed to make sure her little brother would grow up to be strong.


	3. Day Three: Parents/Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a father to a teenage girl had never been at the top of Renji’s list of life achievements.

Being a father to a teenage girl had never been at the top of Renji’s list of life achievements.

 

It hadn’t been on the list at all. Period.

 

But here he was anyway, bullied into braiding hair like a fool by an excited fourteen-year-old who he considered the closest thing to a daughter he would ever have.

 

”Don’t pull so hard, Yomo-san,” Hinami whined and wiggled her head a little to pry his fingers off.

 

”I’m sorry,” he mumbled, bowing his head in shame automatically, even though she sat with her back to him and couldn’t see his gesture.

 

”It’s okay,” Hinami replied while shaking her head enthusiastically. ”It’s your first time. Just be very careful when you separate the hair.”

 

Hinami was good at instructing him, talking him through every step slowly and patiently, even as he tugged her hair too hard or caught it in the callouses of his palm. She handed him hair ties and finally a clip to join the two braids together at the back of her head, framing it like a laurel crown. When he was done, he watched her skip to the bathroom to have a look at herself in the mirror. As soon as she saw her hair, her whole face lit up in a beaming smile and she giggled.

 

”It’s so pretty,” she exclaimed before she ran back to Renji and flung herself at him, hugging him exuberantly. ”Thank you! It’s perfect.”

 

Renji smiled at her, soaking up her happy giggles and her arms wrapped around his neck, cuddling him affectionately.

”Anytime, Hinami,” he promised and patted the top of her head like he knew she liked. She grinned even wider at him at that.

 

”Now it’s your turn!”

 

Renji held her hopeful gaze, figuring out her obscure statement faster than she probably thought he would.

”Fine,” he sighed and bowed his head. ”Go ahead.”

 

”Really?” Hinami’s voice rose in pitch with her excitement and Renji’s mouth quirked. ”Can I really?”

 

”Yes,” he confirmed and bowed his head a little further.

 

Hinami giggled as she climbed onto the back of the couch so she could sit down behind him and tower over him. Her delicate hands petted his hair, smoothing it down in the process. It felt nice, he decided. No one had petted his hair like this since his sister had died.

 

”You need to comb it more carefully,” Hinami tutted playfully as she grabbed the brush and started to brush through his hair, strand after strand. She was were attentive and thorough, combing every strand several times until all the knots were gone. ”There, all better,” she announced cheerfully.

 

Her fingers moved a little faster as his had done, parting his hair into three strands and braiding them quickly like he had done for her. Renji held thehair ties in his hands up so Hinami could reach them and she fastened them around the tips of the braids before she arranged them like he had hers.

 

”We match,” she told him so brightly that he found himself grinning at her involuntarily. She jumped up and grabbed for his arm, pulling him behind her to the bathroom and in front of the mirror.

 

Renji brought his hand up and gingerly touched the neat braid, tilting his head this way and that to get a good look from every possible angle.

”Well done, Hinami. It’s very pretty.”

 

Hinami giggled, obviously pleased with herself and Renji indulged himself and petted the top of her hand again.

 

He might not have planned to be a father to a teenage girl one day, but he wouldn’t want to ever change it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yomo is the ultimate dad. Petition for him to adopt all the lost kids of TG.
> 
> P.S  
> I could barely bring myself to update this warm ball of fluff today in light of what happened in the new chapter. I am in mourning.


	4. Day Five/Six: Couples/Enemies getting along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renji and Uta enjoy a little downtime together.

Ever since Renji had helped Touka open a new café, he hadn’t had a lot of time for anything else. His free time was spent re-establishing their food supply chain, renovating the space they had rented for the café and moving their stuff from their old flat to the new one right above the café. Before he knew it, he hadn’t seen Uta or talked to him save for quick text messages in almost two months.

 

”Just go,” Touka had told him as she unpacked china cups and plates to stock the cupboards while he had checked his phone every ten seconds for incoming messages.

 

”Are you sure?” he’d asked, guilt already settling deep in his stomach for leaving all the work to her.

 

But Touka had only rolled her eyes and shooed him out the door with her hands.

 

That was how he ended up on Uta’s couch, kneading his own hands with fluttering nerves at the heavy stare directed at him.

Uta was obviously surprised, pleasantly so though, but they still had trouble falling into their old routine they had established over almost a decade of friendship and which Renji had broken down so mindlessly.

 

A heavy sigh sounded next to him, followed by the springs of the couch squeaking and the cushions shifting, before the body next to him was suddenly just gone. Renji’s eyes followed Uta’s retreating form in confusion as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

 

The suddenly overbearing lack of Uta’s presence was only slightly alleviated by the soft music playing in the background. Still, it hurt.

Uta was angry at him and he had every right to be, but Renji didn’t know what to say or do to make it better.

He was just so tired and angry at himself and he dropped his suddenly heavy head into his hands, pressing the heels of them into his eyes.

 

”Hey.”

Uta must have come back in the time Renji had beaten himself down for his behaviour, because his voice was suddenly very close again.

 

Renji let his hands fall from his face, blinking away the spots dancing across his vision and he looked up.

 

There was a hand right in front of his face, palm turned up in invitation and Renji looked up at Uta’s face at that. He was dressed in pyjamas now. Renji smiled tiredly. He had just left to change.

Uta, aware of Renji’s habit of tearing himself up over nothing, extended his arm, holding out his hand for Renji to take, like a gentleman asking a lady for a dance at a ball. Renji almost blushed at the gesture, unused to being treated like that.

 

”Come on, Ren,” Uta coaxed, sticking his hand out further and almost poking Renji in the nose in the process but he smiled. ”Just a quick one.”

 

Renji heaved a sigh and contemplated refusing. He wasn’t a good dancer at all and Uta wasn’t too skilled either. But he found himself reaching up and gently placing his hand in Uta’s despite his reservations. He was heaved up with a sharp and strong tug, stumbling into Uta due to the force.

 

”Hello,” Uta said, smiling at him pleasantly and brought their faces close enough to kiss. He stopped short of their lips touching, though.

 

Renji didn’t speak. He didn’t trust his voice enough to not embarrass him as he felt his knees go wobbly. Uta’s genuinely soft smiles had always been his kryptonite, especially if he flashed them in such close proximity.

 

The music in the background changed, the voice of a male singer changing to a female one but Renji still couldn’t understand the words. His best guess was that the songs were in English. Uta always used to say that western music was pretty decent, even though he couldn’t understand a word either.

He quickly forgot about the music as Uta grabbed Renji’s other hand as well and started to move them back and forth until Renji’s whole body started to rock with the momentum.

 

”Renji, you need to move yourself or that’s not going to work,” Uta chided him but the chuckle threatening to spill out of his throat took away the edge.

 

Renji sighed again and let himself be coaxed into movement by the other man. It was just a slow shifting from foot to foot, swaying back and forth, left and right, in a weak semblance of dancing but it was enough for them. Their fingers were linked gently, hands used to guide each other into a certain movement, pushing each other away only to come close again. It wasn’t about the dance at all for them.

 

There was a change in rhythm when the second verse started and Renji changed his tactic. The next time Uta came close, he took the mask maker’s hand and pulled him into a standard dancing position. Uta’s eyes widened in surprise, but his lips stretched around a sunny smile. Summoning all the knowledge on dancing and leading a partner buried deep inside him, Renji moved to the beat, stepping forwards and coaxing Uta into stepping backwards in time with him. They stumbled a little, off-tempo and clumsy, but their chests touching and noses bumping overshadowed the embarrassment.

 

Spurred on by Uta’s easy laugh, Renji took his hands and pushed him a step away, twirling him twice and then drew him in until he was nestled against his torso again. Uta’s arms came up to wrap around the taller man’s shoulders, holding on tight and face buried into his neck as they swayed in place, taking a few steps here and there to keep their balance as the song winded down and eventually stopped.

 

There was moist warmth against Renji’s skin paired with the cool sting of metal as Uta’s lips moved along his throat and jawline.

 

”Thank you, Renji,” he said quietly and placed one final kiss against his chin before he leaned in to meld their lips together.

 

They kissed like they had just danced. Languidly and clumsy, but familiar enough with each other to make it enjoyable anyway. They only parted long enough to realise that the next song had already started, still a ballad but more up-beat and Uta grabbed for Renji’s arms again.

 

”Just one more,” Uta whispered against Renji’s lips. His happy smile hadn’t faded yet.

 

Renji surrendered and brought his arms around Uta’s waist, commencing their second but not their last dance of the night. He could never refuse Uta anything when his smile lit up Renji’s whole life like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was heavily inspired by [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QmGB47fdQc) from Only Lovers Left Alive which just killed my heart. Uta and Yomo actually remind me a lot of Adam and Eve (not only because of the aesthetic they have going on).


End file.
